Download The Rise of Hitler

The Rise of Hitler
CHC 2DI
S. Todd
Childhood
• Born on 20 April 1889 in Austria-Hungary to
Alois Hitler and Klara Pölzl
• Many of his siblings died in
infancy
• When Hitler was three, his
family moved to Germany
• Had a tense relationship with
his father and did very poorly
in school
Adolf Hitler as an infant
Early Adulthood
• Moved to Vienna and lived a bohemian life as
a painter
• Applied to Vienna’s Academy of Fine Arts but
was rejected twice
• After the second rejection, Hitler’s mother
died of breast cancer at age 47
• He ran out of money and was forced to live in
homeless shelters and hostels
The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich - Adolf Hitler (1914)
Antisemitism
• At the time Hitler lived there, Vienna was a
hotbed of religious prejudice and racism
• It was feared that immigrants from the East
(particularly Jews) would take over Western
Europe
• Hitler read many anti-Semitic newspapers while
living there
• Historians say that it is difficult to pinpoint exactly
when Hitler “became” anti-Semitic but there is
general agreement that it was before the end of
WWI
Hitler and World War I
• Hitler fought in the First Battle of Ypres, the
Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Arras, and
the Battle of Passchendaele, and was
wounded at the Battle of the Somme
• October 1918: Hitler temporarily blinded in a
mustard gas attack and hospitalized
• It was while in hospital that he learned of
Germany’s defeat in World War I
• He received many war medals for his bravery
and military skill during the war
Adolf Hitler from 1914-1918
Post-WWI
• After the war, Hitler returned to Germany
• With no career or education, he remained in the
army
• Hitler was discharged from the army in March
1920 and began working full-time for the Nazi
party
• The Nazi party was determined to crush Marxism
and undermine the Weimar Republic
• Hitler began making public speeches and quickly
became famous for his speeches against the
Treaty of Versailles and Jews
Post-WWI
• Hitler served a year in prison for leading the
Beer Hall Putsch (tried to overthrow the
government!)
• During his time in prison, he wrote his
autobiography, “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle)
• The book laid out Hitler's plans for
transforming German society into one based
on race  very anti-Semitic
Hitler and Politics
• When released from prison, Hitler promised
that he would only seek political power in a
legal way
• When the stock market crashed in 1929, Hitler
and the Nazis used it as a way to promise to
strengthen the economy, create jobs, and
abolish the Treaty of Versailles
Election
• 1932: Hitler and the Nazis won 35% of the
vote
• He was then appointed Chancellor, the leader
of Germany
• Hitler then passed the Enabling Act which
transformed Germany’s government into a
dictatorship
• Using his new power, Hitler eventually wiped
out all other political parties
• 1933: Reichstag Fire – German parliament
went up in flames
• Hitler and the Nazis blamed communists
• Used it as a way to further persecute
communists and to suspend certain rights
Hitler as Leader
• Under Hitler’s leadership, life in Germany
improved immensely
• Unemployment fell from 6 million in 1932 to 1
million in 1936
• Infrastructure improved – roads, bridges,
railways, Autobahn
• The “People’s Car” – literal translation:
1938 Volkswagen Beetle
Hitler’s Objectives
• 1933: Hitler spoke of his goal for Lebensraum
(“living space”)
Wanted to expand Germany’s borders to
make room for a pure, superior Aryan race
• Thus begins the Road to WWII…